Tire treating apparatus



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Feb. 18, 1964 J. A. TOMCHAK TIRE TREATING APPARATUS Original Filed May 27, 1960 Feb. 18, 1964 J. A. ToMcHAK 3,121,437

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United States Patent O 3,121,437 TIRE TREATING APPARATUS Joseph A. Tomchak, 690 Broadway, McKees Rocks, Pa. Original application May 27, 1960, Ser. No. 32,355, now Patent No. 3,017,891, dated Jan. 23, 1962. Divided and this application Aug. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 130,523 3 Claims. (Cl. 134-123) My invention relates to apparatus for treating motor vehicle tires for the purpose of cleaning and drying the same and also to thaw them in order to facilitate removal when frozen upon a wheel, the drying operation being performed after subjecting them to steam or water sprays preparatory to recapping the tires or storing them.

This application is a division of copending application Serial No. 32,355, tiled May 27, 1960, now Patent No. 3,017,891.

One object of my invention is to provide apparatus for effectively subjecting tires of various sizes to cleaning operations.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for effective-ly drying tires, without leaving any residue or pockets of water or moisture thereon.

As shown in the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view of a tire treating cabinet and the mechanism contained therein, looking toward the rear, the doo-rs of the cabinet being open;

FIG. 2 .is a vertical sectional view looking from the lefthand end of the structure sh'own in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view looking from the right-hand side of the structure shown in FIG. 1.

The cabinet is of box-like form and includes a rear wall 5, end walls 6 and 7; 4a partition wall 8 and top and bottom walls 9 and k10. A chamber 11 serves as a washing and thawing chamber and a chamber 12 as a drying chamber. 'Ihe walls may suitably be made of a cornposition material that may be of heat-insuflating material.

The end wall 7 has angle bars 13 and 14 secured thereto that will support bearings for shafts 1'5, that carry sprocket wheels at their outer ends. Each shaft carries three pairs of tire supporting rolls 17, 18 and l19, these rolls being adjustable lengthwise of their shafts by means of set screws 20. The rolls 19 are adjustable longitudinally of the shafts to adapt them to tires of various widths. The left-hand end of the shafts 15 are supported in bearings that are carried by angles 21 secured to the end wall 6. The rolls 17, 18 and 19 are all beveled and therefore may readily accommodate tires 22 of various widths, since it would be sufficient that the tires rest anywhere against the beveled faces, which may be at various distances 4from the shafts 15. For Wider range of adjustments, the set screws 20 will be loosened and the rolls slid along the shafts. Suitable doors 25 and 26 will be provided at the front sides of the chambers 11 and 112, respectively.

The shafts `15 are driven from a motor 27 through a reduction gearing 28, sprocket pinion 29, 'a drive chain 30 and sprocket wheels 31 and 32. This, of course, will rotate the tires mounted on the roll-s in the two chambers. Within the chamber 11 there are two guide bars 33 that will prevent too great tilting of the tire. Also, they are of approximately semi-circular form `so that there will be no undue wear or rubbing of the tire. Similarly, in the chamber 12, there are guide bars 34 secured to the opposite vertical walls and also a central bar 35 which prevents two tires in that chamber from rubbing one another, and also from tilting too far. A shield 36 overlies the yexposed sides of the sprocket chain and the sprocket wheels.

Spray water or steam is provided thro-ugh a hose line 38, from a suitable source and through a nipple 39 which is pivotally supported in the end wall 7 of the spray charn- 3,121,437 Patented Feb. 18, 1964 ice ber. The nipple serves to support one leg of U-shaped pipe `40 whose other leg is pivotally supported at 41 in the partition 8. The piping l40 is provided with spray jets 42 that will discharge against the sides of a tire and a spray jet 43 that discharges -angularly-rearward against the tread of the tire. Itis advantageous to pivotally support the spray jets at 39 and 41, in order to allow for swinging the jet pipe from a vertical position rearwardly, so that the jets can properly discharge against the sides of tires of various diameters, since if the jet supports stayed in a vertical position the spray would not properly reach the sides ofthe larger-sized tires. Manipulation of these spray jets around the pivots will be had by a handle 44.

Drain water or steam condensate will be caught by the hopper-like walls 45 and -46 and be conveyed away through a drain pipe 47 to a sewer or sump.

It will be understood that the washing and spraying compartment rnay be used separately and formed as a unit independently of the drying chamber, and likewise the drying chamber might be sold separately from the spray chamber,

Referring now to the drying .chamber 12, a drying operation on one or two tires can, of course, be carried on at the same time as a washing operation in the other chamber, and the tires can therefore be more quickly dried and ready for handling or recapping without the necessity of suspending washing operations, which would be required if the tires were washed and dried in the same chamber.

Four gas burners `48 or other suitable heating media are provided in the bottom of the chamber 12, below baffles 48, 50, 51 and 52 which are supported at their ends upon Wings 53 and 54 within the chamber. The baffles serve not only to shield the tires against direct heat from the heating elements but also effect distribution thereof within the chamber so as to avoid channeled upflow currents to a vent 55 at the top of the chamber.

In order to prevent overheating of the air in the chamber 12 a thermostat 56 is provided in the chamber and operates through a control switch 57 and suitable wiring, to regulate `a fuel control valve, and hence control the burner llame. Of course, if electrical heating is employed, a circuit interrupter or rheostat could be substituted for the valve 53. The compartment :for the burners 48 is covered at the rear of the cabinet by a drop door 60 hinged at 61.

It is also possible to clean batteries in the spray chamber by the use of the jets. If the rolls are too far apart to support the batteries, a plate would, of course, be placed on them.

I claim as my invention:

l. Tire cleaning apparatus that comprises a pair of laterally-spaced shafts, a pair of tire-supporting rollers carried by each shaft, a spraying pipe of U-shaped pivotally supported at the ends of its legs and positioned to straddle a tire on the rollers, jet openings directed from Within the legs toward the sides of the tire, means for continuously supplying fluid under pressure through the jets, and means for adjusting the spray pipe about its pivotal supports.

2. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the pivotal supponts are positioned above a line drawn between the said shafts.

3. Tire cleaning apparatus that comprises a chamber, a pair of laterally-spaced shafts extending through the chamber, a pair of tire-supporting rollers carried by each shaft, means for rotating said shafts tothereby also rotate a tire supported on said rollers, U-shaped conduit means having communicating 'spraying nozzle means within the chamber adjacent opposite sides of a tire on said rollers and arranged to direct jets of liquid under pressure against the sides of said tire, said U-shaped conduit means also having communicating spraying nozzle means within the 3 chamber adjacent the periphery of a tire on said rollers and arranged to direct a jet lof liquid against the periphery of the tire, and means for continuously supplying liquid under pressure to the U-shaped conduit means and hence to said spraying nozzle means Where it is sprayed against said tire.

Referencescited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Diefenbach Dec. 12, 1893 Wales Iuly 28, 1914 

3. TIRE CLEANING APPARATUS THAT COMPRISES A CHAMBER, A PAIR OF LATERALLY-SPACED SHAFTS EXTENDING THROUGH THE CHAMBER, A PAIR OF TIRE-SUPPORTING ROLLERS CARRIED BY EACH SHAFT, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID SHAFTS TO THEREBY ALSO ROTATE A TIRE SUPPORTED ON SAID ROLLERS, U-SHAPED CONDUIT MEANS HAVING COMMUNICATING SPRAYING NOZZLE MEANS WITHIN THE CHAMBER ADJACENT OPPOSITE SIDES OF A TIRE ON SAID ROLLERS AND ARRANGED TO DIRECT JETS OF LIQUID UNDER PRESSURE AGAINST THE SIDES OF SAID TIRE, SAID U-SHAPED CONDUIT MEANS ALSO 